Learning to Love being The Outsider
When you work at the same practice for years, you develop deep roots. At my last job, I knew the staff’s kids’ names and which administrators to avoid. I also knew exactly where the bathrooms were. Moving into locums means giving that up. Suddenly, you’re "The Outsider" over and over again.
At first, being The Outsider can feel isolating. But if you shift your perspective, it’s actually a massive perk of the lifestyle.
Immunity to Office Politics
Every clinic has a low-level hum of drama. When you’re The Outsider, none of that’s your problem. Because you don’t have a long-term stake in the office hierarchy, you can stay friendly with everyone while staying completely out of the crossfire. You don’t have to pick a side in a staff dispute or worry about the latest policy change from corporate. You just show up and see patients.
The Power of Impermanence
No practice is perfect. But there’s a unique mental freedom in knowing that systemic issues aren't yours to fix. When a staff member complains about a broken workflow, you can offer a sympathetic ear without feeling the weight of having to solve it. The structural headaches belong to someone else; your only job is to provide great care while you’re there.
Socializing on Your Terms
As an introvert, I found that permanent roles often come with an implicit social pressure—holiday parties, retirement dinners, or mandatory team-building events. As The Outsider, your social interactions are entirely on your terms. If you want to grab lunch with the team, you can. If you want to stay in your office and finish your charting in peace, that’s perfectly fine too.
Collecting Best Practices
When you sit at the same desk for years, it’s easy to get stuck in your ways. Being The Outsider forces you to stay sharp. You get to see how different practices handle the same problems. You can observe how colleagues in other states practice and pick up new clinical pearls. This constant exposure to new environments keeps your brain flexible.
I think learning to love being The Outsider requires letting go of the need for institutional validation. Once you realize your professional identity isn’t tied to a specific building or a local hierarchy, being The Outsider stops feeling like a weakness.
